Chelsea reach Champions League final as Fernando Torres has final word in 2-2 draw against Barcelona

What a night. What a display of defiance from Chelsea after the dismissal of
John Terry for kneeing Alexis Sánchez. To the delight of their fans up in
the Gods, 10 men went to mow a meadow, and thrillingly, amazingly, they cut
mighty Barcelona, the European champions, the team of Lionel Messi, Xavi and
Andres Iniesta down to size.

• Chelsea knock European champions out on aggregate • John Terry sent off in 39th minute and misses final • Ivanovic, Meireles and Ramires also miss final after bookings • Gary Cahill off injured after 13 minutes • LionelMessi misses 49th minute penalty • Argentine has failed to score against Chelsea in eight attempts

This really was a night for a Chelsea knees-up. Terry’s expulsion after 37 minutes for a cynical attempt to incapacitate Barcelona’s Chilean striker should have signalled the end for Chelsea’s hopes. They were already trailing to Sergio Busquets strike.

They were already manning the barricades and now their captain was gone. In the 2008 Moscow final, Terry lost his footing; here he lost his marbles. He let his team down.

Gary Cahill had already limped off. To lose one centre half could be considered a misfortune, to lose two smacked of carelessness. Depleted in numbers, Chelsea were never down in spirit.

Ramires was immense, defending and attacking relentlessly, even scoring to make it 2-1 on the cusp of half-time, changing the mood, giving Chelsea hope, even making light of a booking that precludes his presence in the Munich final on May 19.

The Brazilian’s contribution echoed that of Roy Keane in Turin in 1999 or Michael Ballack in Seoul in 2002; putting personal heartache to one side to help drive their team to the final.

Matching Ramires’s excellence was Petr Cech, who made some vital saves. Didier Drogba was also terrific, working selflessly for the cause. Fernando Torres, so derided by so many, came on and scored in the last minute.

Let’s kill the anti-football jibes. Faced with technically superior opponents, Chelsea had to defend deep, particularly after Terry’s red, often leaving Drogba a distant figure, almost in Andorra.

Let’s celebrate a triumph of willpower, of a sheer gutsy determination to resist the Catalan waves that flowed towards them. Yes, there was some time-wasting. Cech approached goal-kicks with all the deliberation and gravitas of someone about to address the Oxford Union.

This magnificent Catalan cauldron threatened to boil over at times, the fans railing against occasional go-slow tactics which brought Cech a caution.

But Barcelona also had themselves to blame; they over-elaborated too often, passing rather than shooting, allowing Chelsea to fill any breaches in their defensive wall.

It may seem heresy but Barcelona, disciples of the Beautiful Game, lacked a Plan B. With the holders out, not since AC Milan in 1989 and 1990 has a side retained the European Cup.

As well as Chelsea’s admirable resolve, let’s also celebrate Roberto Di Matteo. Dismissed by West Brom, he has now steered a team into a Champions League final.

He could be walking out alongside Chelsea’s greatest ever manager, Jose Mourinho, if the Special One plots Bayern Munich’s demise on Wednesday night.

If Di Matteo’s side prevail in Munich, Chelsea qualify automatically for next season’s competition as holders, so sending the Premier League’s fourth-placed side into the Europa League.

Di Matteo has brought calm to the dressing-room, an easily assimilated tactical game-plan and defended his players. His credentials for the full-time post are strengthened by the game.

If the desire in the Chelsea corridors of power is for a bigger name, well just give Di Matteo a while longer. His profile grows and grows.

Even if Roman Abramovich looks elsewhere, and sadly the Russian was absent on Tuesday night, Di Matteo will always have Barcelona.

Oh, and Lisbon and possibly Munich. Heaven knows who he will pick for the showdown: also joining Terry and Ramires in the banned stand are Branislav Ivanovic and Raul Meireles.

Whatever happens to Di Matteo, he will always have the memory of outwitting Pep Guardiola, of Lionel Messi failing to score, of his players rallying to the cause against one of the most feted sides in history and of the blue flag flying over Camp Nou.

He can also take pride in the way he reorganised his side, giving strength in adversity. Cahill’s injury brought Jose Bosingwa on at right back with Ivanovic moving to partner Terry.

The pressure on Chelsea intensified. Frank Lampard was booked. Messi had a shot saved. Iniesta’s follow-up was blocked by Terry. Then Fabregas hit the side-netting. Danger rose from every quarter. Even Javier Mascherano let fly, narrowly over.

Then came 10 mad minutes as the half closed, Barcelona first digging up a jewel from the wreckage of a corner. Dani Alves slipped the ball left to Isaac Cuenca, who crossed low and accurately to Busquets.

The finish was neat, left-footed from 10 yards and the Nou Camp erupted.

A goal down on the night, Chelsea were soon a man down. As Terry kneed Sanchez in the back, as the Chilean fell to earth, the assistant referee signalled the offence to Cuneyt Cakir, the excellent Turkish referee who reached for the red card.

As Terry made the walk of woe, Chelsea’s remodelled back-four was Ramires-Ivanovic-Bosingwa-Cole and it was soon breached. Messi was the catalyst, gliding forward, sliding the ball to Iniesta, who finished unerringly. This looked Mission Impossible.

Yet Chelsea stood firm, breaking out and scoring a fine goal just before the break. Lampard made it, releasing Ramires, who galloped down the inside-right channel, showing all that famous stamina and then finishing like the Brazilian he is, the ball chipped elegantly over Valdes.

After the break, Barcelona could not have set up camp more in Chelsea’s half if they had pitched a row of tents across the 18-yard line.

Within three minutes of the restart, they should have regained the initiative. Drogba challenged Fabregas, who went down, looking up to the referee for a penalty.

Cakir obliged, pointing to the spot and Messi stepped up. Surely he would inflict pain on the visitors. To the disbelief of all, the Argentine drove the ball against the bar.

Frustration seeped into Barcelona’s veins. Messi pushed Lampard and then pulled him back.

Chelsea fans began taunting locals with chants of “Jose Mourinho”. Cech continued his masterclass of goalkeeping, tipping a Messi shot on to the post and pushing away a Mascherano strike.